'TEX Two-Way Player' Kim Sung-jun, Team Prospect Ranking Jumps from 15th to 6th — A Huge Breakthrough! Rookie League ERA 1.04... 7 Home Runs, 8 Stolen Bases, Final Wrap-Up

*This content was translated by AI.

'Gwangju Ilgo's Ohtani' Kim Sung-jun (19, ACL Rangers) successfully concluded his rookie league debut season, proving his value.

On the 24th (Korean time), MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, updated its evaluations of top prospects across all 30 teams, raising Kim Sung-jun's ranking to 6th among Texas Rangers' internal prospects.

His previous ranking was 15th within the team as assessed earlier this year, but it was upgraded following his outstanding rookie league performance. For instance, Josh Owens (19), who has been developing alongside Kim Sung-jun in a two-way role for the Rangers, was ranked 6th. However, Kim Sung-jun delivered more impressive results than Owens in both pitching and hitting during the rookie league, resulting in a reversal of rankings by season's end: Kim at 6th and Owens at 7th.

His final performance was equally impressive. On this day, Kim Sung-jun started as the leadoff hitter and shortstop for the ACL Rangers in the final regular-season game of the 2026 Minor League Baseball (MiLB) Rookie League against the ACL Angels at Diablo Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. He recorded 3 hits in 2 at-bats (including 1 home run), drew 2 hit-by-pitches, drove in 2 runs, and scored 3 times, leading the ACL Rangers to a decisive 21-3 victory.

In his first at-bat of the first inning, Kim Sung-jun reached base via a hit-by-pitch and later scored on Noah Franklin's ground-rule double to left field. In the bottom of the second inning with no outs and runners on first and second, he lifted a low-arching curveball for a single to left field. He then scored again on Braulio Cabello's triple to third base.

In his third at-bat, he seized the momentum with a powerful home run. With two outs and a runner on second base in the bottom of the third inning, Kim Sung-jun connected solidly with Mickey Casino's slider that dropped inside for a four-pitch count, launching a two-run home run to left field. The ball, traveling at 107.4 mph (approximately 172.8 km/h), landed in the left-field stands at a distance of 385 feet (about 117 meters).

With the score gap widening to 10-0, Kim Sung-jun was immediately substituted out for rest starting from the bottom of the third inning. Despite the ACL Rangers adding another 11 runs, they finished the season with a record of 28 wins and 32 losses, placing fourth in the Arizona Complex League West Division, and thus failed to qualify for the postseason.

This marks the conclusion of Kim Sung-jun's rookie league performance as he took on the challenge of two-way play. As a pitcher, he recorded 0 wins and 1 loss in 5 games, with an ERA of 1.04 over 8⅔ innings and 10 strikeouts. As a hitter, he played in 48 games, posting a .303 batting average (40 hits in 132 at-bats), 7 home runs, 34 RBIs, 35 runs scored, and 8 stolen bases, with an on-base percentage of 0.419, slugging percentage of 0.545, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.964.

On the mound, he threw pitches reaching up to 98 mph (approximately 157.7 km/h) according to the scoreboard and 97 mph (approximately 156.1 km/h) via TrackMan. Meanwhile, in his shortstop defense duties twice a week, he completed 85⅓ innings without committing a single error.

During his time at Gwangju Ilgo High School, Kim Sung-jun attracted MLB attention by playing both pitcher and hitter from his freshman year thanks to his exceptional physical attributes and athletic instincts. In his sophomore year, he won the Baseball Star Award at the 2024 Futures Star Awards ceremony. Last May, as a junior, he signed a contract worth $1.2 million (approximately 1.8 billion won) with the Texas Rangers and embarked on his challenge to reach the major leagues.

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*This content was translated by AI.